Our membership car program continues throughout the year. The car, presented to each active member of the Society, is a gift from Micro-Trains Line Company. This year the car is a Louisville & Nashville forty-foot boxcar, brown with white door and lettering and a image of Union Station in Louisville. The car is in honor of our convention site for this year in Louisville, Kentucky. This high quality model will be offered only once, never offered to the public, and never rerun. After you join or renew your membership the gift car will ship within six to eight weeks. Initial production and shipping is planned to begin in May 2008.
 
One of the benefits of membership in the N Scale Collector, in addition to the subscription to our outstanding bi-monthly magazine, is the opportunity to purchase the many special runs that the Society commissions during the year. One limited edition special run of particular interest this year is the, one per member, “Nearly A State Series”, Northern Mariana Islands. This fifth car is a matching continuation of the popular Micro-Trains State Series and follows the Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa cars of the past four years. The car will be available for current and new members to order beginning in September through the end of October 2008.  Order forms will be mailed to all active members when production is completed in the fall. So long as the limited supplies last, new members who join after October 31st through New Year’s Eve will also be allowed to purchase one of these cars. These Northern Mariana cars will not be available after the deadline or when supplies are exhausted. The car will never be produced again. However, there are still a few more " Nearly States" out there and I hear there will be some in Z scale too.

Society annual United States membership continues to be Forty ($40.00) Dollars, Canadian is Fifty($50.00 US), and International is Seventy ($70.00 US). This is still the best deal going. Where else can you get six issues of a great magazine, plus a free car for these prices…all delivered to your door without shipping or sales tax ?
Our membership continues to increase every year (currently about 1800), as more and more N Scalers find out what excellent opportunities are available in the Society.  We have a minimum of ten, member only, auctions or sales each year. Recently each auction has offered more than 800 collector quality N scale items. 
Our annual convention this year in Louisville, Kentucky promises to be even better than last year’s in Hartford, Connecticut.  Again this year the NTRAKers, this time KSONS from the Kentucky area, will join with us to present the National N Scale Convention. Large layouts, live auction, swap-a-rama, train ride, side trips, special runs for sale, World's Greatest Hobbies on Tour, manufacturer’s representatives, clinics, great food and entertainment for the whole family will abound. In addition, the Louisville, Kentucky area offers so much more to do; plan to come early and stay late in June. For more details and information on the Society offerings, just click the appropriate tabs on our home page.

Thinking ahead, Micro-Trains has not yet announced what their gift Car will be for 2009, but you can bet it will be a “must have” addition to your collection…there are also more ”Nearly States”. Of course, don’t just wait for those. Enjoy the magazine and the many other Limited Edition Special Runs that are offered throughout the year at reduced pricing.

If all this sounds like a good deal and we sound like your kind of folks, you may sign up here on the web page or print out a form for mailing. Alternately, e-mail, mail, or call your information to the Director of Membership. If you use credit card, please include the expiration date and the three digit CID or BIN number added to the end of your number on the back of the card. Membership runs for twelve months and six issues of the Collector magazine from the time your membership is activated.
 
   
Happy N Scaling,
    Jack 

Jack Armstrong
Director of Membership